Why are people sharing photos of empty plates on Instagram?

Here's the incredible campaign behind this strange social media trend.

We’ve all been there. Readjusting our plates, trying to find the best lighting and shifting in our seats to get the perfect photo of our dinner.

Whether it’s a plate of saucy pasta, a burger you can barely fit in your mouth or a crispy salmon fillet - if we nail the photo, we’ll make our Facebook friends or Instagram followers jealous.

But let’s face it: the world probably doesn’t need a photo of tonight’s dinner. The earth will keep spinning if your cheesy pizza doesn’t make it to Instagram. You have many picture-perfect meals ahead of you. That's why Carrie Bickmore and the team at Channel Ten's The Project asked Australians do something a little different: to take a food photo that brings life-saving therapeutic food to children going without.

How can dirty plates change lives?

Drought and floods have plunged Ethiopia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and surrounding countries into drought. As crops and animals wither into the dirt, there simply isn’t enough food for parents to give their children. The lives of 26 million children are at risk - that’s the equivalent of Australia's entire population not knowing where they’ll get their next meal.

That's where these unusual food photos come in. Food Instagrammers and regular Australians are making all their friends and followers stop in their news feeds with #DonateYourDinner. It's this simple:

Join in and #DonateYourDinner tonight

Your small act of generosity could have a big impact.It could mean a mother in Malawi won’t have to watch her child suffer through malnutrition. It could mean a father in Ethiopia can help his child recover from disease. If you #DonateYourDinner tonight, it will mean everything for children in crisis.

It's simple:

1. Share a photo of your finished plate with #DonateYourDinner
2. Donate the value of your dinner at donateyourdinner.org
3. Tag three friends and ask them to do the same!

When you disrupt newsfeeds with a photo of your empty plate, it’ll bring awareness and support to children suffering through food crisis. When you #DonateYourDinner, it’ll mean therapeutic food, water and lifesaving supplies for children.